European E-commerce Grew by 16% to € 363 Billion in 2013

ecommerce key driver for European economy

Ecommerce Europe – June 17, 2014 – The European online revenue of B2C goods and services grew by 16.3% to € 363.1 billion in 2013. Within this, the EU28 achieved a B2C e-commerce turnover of € 276.5 billion. This is 87.6% of the total European B2C e-commerce turnover and a growth of 15.0% in comparison with the preceding year. This is apparent from the new European B2C E-commerce Report 2014, which was published during the Global E-commerce Summit in Barcelona today. The European e-commerce figures are compiled with various national e-commerce associations and in cooperation with GfK. In addition, the report is made possible with the support of GlobalCollect, Informatica Corp, RichRelevance and Salesupply.

Wijnand Jongen, Chairman of Ecommerce Europe’s Executive Committee: “We expect an online revenue of €425.5 billion in 2014. And towards the end of 2016, we believe that the European B2C e-commerce turnover will have increased to around € 625 billion. The growth forecast is enabled through the higher spending per e-shopper in mature countries as well as through an increase in the number of e-consumers in emerging countries.”

In 2013, the countries with the highest turnover in the field of e-commerce were once again the United Kingdom (€ 107.1 billion), Germany (€ 63.4 billion) and France (€ 51.1 billion). The total of € 221.6 billion of these three nations combined represents 61% of the total European B2C e-commerce sector, and 69% of the EU28.

E-commerce key driver for European economyEurope’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to have reached €16.4 trillion in 2013, and the share of the EU28’s GDP in this amount was 79.5%. Ecommerce Europe estimates the share of the European B2C Internet economy, the eGDP index, at 2.2%, a percentage that is set to double by 2016 and to triple by 2020.

Ecommerce Europe estimates the number of B2C websites to have grown to 650,000 at the end of 2013. For the upcoming years, a yearly increase of 15 to 20% is forecast with regard to new B2C online shops in Europe. In addition, the number of jobs created directly or indirectly by the B2C e-commerce sector is estimated at more than two million in Europe. Both estimates are based on the on-going increase and penetration of online in society, and the projected growth of B2C e-commerce.

European e-commerce is growing steadily every year. As a result, the number of parcels sent also increased. Ecommerce Europe estimates the annual number of B2C parcels sent to customers domestically and cross-border to other (European) countries at 3.7 billion.

E-commerce penetration and growth differ per regionB2C e-commerce now represents one of the major drivers of the European economy. However, there are large differences in development between the mature markets in Northern and Western Europe and the emerging countries (which are catching up rapidly) in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe.

With a B2C e-commerce turnover of € 177.7 billion, Western Europe (the United Kingdom, France, the Benelux countries and Ireland) represented 49.0% of the total European e-commerce market. Mainly because of the presence of two of the three largest European e-commerce markets (the UK and France), it is still the region with the highest B2C e-commerce turnover in Europe.

Central Europe, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland, was the second-largest e-commerce region in Europe last year, with a B2C e-commerce turnover of € 93.2 billion (25.7%). After the UK, Germany is the largest e-commerce market in Europe and therefore it is the main driver of this region.

In 2013, Southern Europe, including Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Turkey, strengthened its third position with an e-commerce turnover of € 40.8 billion. This represents a share of 11.2% in the total European e-commerce market.

Northern Europe, consisting of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland and the Baltic states, ranked fourth in terms of e-commerce turnover, with € 32.0 billion and this represents a market share of 8.8%. The Eastern European region, led by Russia, showed a spectacular e-commerce growth of 47.4%. As a result, its turnover amounted to 19.3 billion, which equaled a market share of 5.3%.

Asia-Pacific largest B2C e-commerce region in the world Ecommerce Europe also published the first outcome of its Global B2C E- Report, which is to be published in the fall of 2014, in the European B2C E-commerce Report 2014. In this, the European B2C e-commerce market is compared to other continents and regions.

In 2013, Asia-Pacific was the largest B2C e-commerce market of products and services in the world. This was largely due to the huge Chinese market. The turnover of this market includes C2C, part of it being turnover of rural SMEs that are registered as C2C through “consumer accounts” at popular market places.

With a B2C e-commerce turnover of € 406.1 billion (+16.7%), this region was larger than Europe (€ 363.1 billion, +16.3%) and North America (€ 333.5 billion, +6.0%). The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) experienced the fastest growth last year; its B2C e-commerce turnover grew by 32.6% to € 11.9 billion. It was followed by Latin America, which grew by 24.6% to € 37.9 billion.

More information on the global e-commerce market will be available in our Global B2C Ecommerce Reports, which will be published in the fall of 2014.

About Ecommerce Europe

Ecommerce Europe is the association representing 5,000+ companies selling products and/or services online to consumers in Europe. Founded by leading national e-commerce associations, its mission is to advance the interests and influence of e-commerce in Europe through advocacy, communication and networking.

The European e-commerce figures are compiled with various national e-commerce associations and in cooperation with GfK. In addition, the report is made possible with the support of GlobalCollect, Informatica Corp, RichRelevance and Salesupply.

About GfKGfK is the trusted source of relevant market and consumer information that enables its clients to make smarter decisions. More than 13,000 market research experts combine their passion with GfK’s 80 years of data science experience. By using innovative technologies and data sciences, GfK turns big data into smart data, enabling its clients to improve their competitive edge and enrich consumers’ experiences and choices.

About GlobalCollectGlobalCollect is the most knowledgeable global Payment Service Provider in the world, processing international e-commerce payments for more than 600 of the world’s most recognized e-commerce brands in the digital goods and services, travel, retail and video gaming industries, among many others. GlobalCollect’s business intelligence tools, Managed Fraud Services and more than 400 payments experts help our clients elevate their payment strategies to become a strategic asset to their companies.

About Informatica CorporationInformatica Corporation (Nasdaq:INFA) is the world’s number one independent provider of data integration software. Organizations around the world rely on Informatica to realize their information potential and drive top business imperatives. Informatica Vibe, the industry’s first and only embeddable virtual data machine (VDM), powers the unique “Map Once. Deploy Anywhere.” capabilities of the Informatica Platform. With regard to information technology, Informatica helps wherever possible by delivering the right data in the right way to the right users.

About RichRelevanceRichRelevance is the global leader in omni-channel personalization. More than 160 companies in 40 countries use RichRelevance to turn data into actionable insight, which delivers the most relevant experience for consumers as they shop across web, store and mobile. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has delivered over $8 billion in attributable sales to its clients, which include Target, Marks & Spencer and PriceMinister.

About SalesupplySalesupply is a global e-business services company that enables online retailers to achieve profitable international growth faster, more efficiently and with relatively low costs. Salesupply provides a full range of solutions ranging from research and strategy, to effective localization of online shops, followed by complete operational support, traffic generation and brand management.